1. Field of the Invention
This invention pertains generally to log cutting machines, and more particularly to a mobile apparatus for cutting and sorting firewood.
2. Description of the Background Art
It is common to cut firewood from pre-trimmed poles, trees and the like into lengths which are generally accepted for use in a household fireplace or wood stove. When the wood has a larger than acceptable diameter, it is also common to split the wood into smaller pieces. Saws, splitters and similar wood processing devices are well known. Once the wood is cut and split, it is generally hand sorted according to relative size and stacked in a central location.
Firewood processing devices heretofore developed have been designed primarily for cutting and handling generally straight lengths of wood which have been transported to a processing site. However, an increasing amount of firewood is available as agricultural "waste" which is generated by pruning and removing trees from almond, walnut, apple and other orchards. Such wood is typically bent, twisted and generally gnarly and, therefore, not suitable for processing with existing equipment which requires generally straight lengths of wood. Quite typically, a tree falls over in an orchard and is reduced to trimmed poles and a brush pile by the grower. The brush is removed immediately from the orchard and the poles are piled by the stump of the tree. After enough trees have fallen or have been pruned to generate a truck load of wood, or after a growing season passes, the wood is hauled off and processed. While some trees may yield as much as a cord of finished product, others yield as little as one cubic foot. Rarely does one tree produce a truck load of processed wood.
Furthermore, the waste product wood must be removed from the orchard with a minimum of disruption to normal farming activities. To do so, it is highly desirable to process the wood on site, thereby facilitating loading and removal. However, the wood is unlikely to be found in one central location, but will be scattered throughout the orchard. Therefore, there is a need for an apparatus which can be easily moved through an orchard from location to location and which will cut, sort and load firewood without disrupting the normal farming activities.